Conveyor systems



Nov. 27, 1962 o. J. B. oRwlN coNvEYoR SYSTEMS 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledAug. 3l, 1961 nu nu IIIIWII .il

nu \nn rnwXl lmuL Inici Ulli -fi @T ATTORNEY NOV- 27, 1962 o. J. B.oRwlN 3,065,714

coNvEYoR SYSTEMS Filed Aug. .'51, 1961 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 69 70 |NvENToR qq I; O. J. B. ORWIN BY motta/EQ2.

W ATTORNEY Nov. 27, 1962 o. J. B. oRwlN 3,065,714 coNvEYoR SYSTEMS FiledAug. 3l, 1961 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR O. J. B. ORWIN Nov. 27, 1962 o.J. B. oRwlN coNvEYoR SYSTEMS 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 51, 1961INVENTOR OLAF JOHN BARCLEY ORWIN Nov. 27, 1962 o. J. B. oRwlN coNvEYoRSYSTEMS 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 3l. 1961 INVENTOR OLAF JOHN BARCLEYORWIN /Lj` AT TORNEY Nov. 27, 1962 Filed Aug. 51, 1961 O. J. B. ORWINCONVEYOR SYSTEMS 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 I ji l "A8 da) Il ,J

INVENTOR OLAF JOHN BARCLEY ORWIN ATToRNEY Nov. 27, 1962 o. J. B. oRwlN3,065,714

coNvEYoR SYSTEMS Filed Aug. s1. 1961 9 sheets-sheet 7 @D Him (C) 77) 74oi 74 Aan 7@ [77 Q i will Q 75 75 INVENTOR OLAF JOHN BARCLEY ORWIN Nov.27, 1962 o. J. B. oRwlN CONVEYOR SYSTEMS Filed Aug. 3l. 1961 9Sheets-Sheet 8 d n L N q". P so V Ffh Q6 Q E A NVENTOR O. J. B. ORWIN/BYWW ATTORMEY l Nov. 27, 1962 o. J. B. oRwlN CONVEYOR4 SYSTEMS 9Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed Aug. 31, 1961 R wm mw VR WO a nu. O.

g/ ATTORNEY nited States Patent 3,065,714 Patented Nov. 27, 1962 @dice3,065,714 CNVEYGR SYSTEMS Glaf John Barclay rvvin, Quinton, Birmingham,England, assigner to Fisher di Ludlow Limited, Tipton, England, aBritish company Filed Aug, 31, 196i, Ser. No. l36,l52 16 Claims. (Cl.lud-$8) This invention relates to conveyor systems and is concerned withthat kind of conveyor system which comprises a conveying element such asan endless conveyor chain supported above a iloor in substantiallyparallel relation thereto, a plurality of wheeled trucks adapted to beadvanced over the door, and drive transmitting means operating betweenthe conveying element and each truck and adapted to transmit drivethereto from the conveying element to advance the trucks along apredetermined path across the door, the arrangement being such that thedrive between the conveying element and any one of the trucks can :bedisconnected to permit of such truck being brought to rest withoutstopping the continued advancement of the conveying element and theother truck or trucks driven therefrom.

In any conveyor system of the `foregoing kind the trucks are advancedalong a path which is predetermined by the location of the conveyingelement and if a particular truck, by disconnection of the drivethereto, is brought to rest at a predetermined position in the truckpath it is necessarily liable to obstruct the continued advancement offollowing tnlcks unless specially diverted manually out of the path byan operator.

The present invention has for its object the provision of an improvedarrangement by which a truck which i-s required to be brought to restcan be diverted out of the path of following trucks, without manualintervention by the operator.

According to the present invention, the conveyor systern is providedwith a truck diverting device, comprising one or more fender elements,means for mounting each fender element in a predetermined location inrelation to the iioor, each fender element having operatively associatedtherewith means for diverting to one side of said element and to oneside of said path of advancement of the trucks any one or more of asuccession of advancing trucks and means for disconnecting the drive toeach of the so -diverted trucks to bring the same to rest at a positionto one side of said truck path clear of those trucks which continue toadvance successively therealong.

The means for diverting one or more trucks to one side of said fenderelement may be constituted by an integral part of said element of Wedgeor tapered configuration which extends from one end of said element in arearward direction, i.e. opposite to the designed direction of truckadvancement, and the element self including the tapered portion thereofmay be mounted for limited angular movement about a vertical axisrelative to the floor so as thereby to permit of said displacing meansconstituted by said tapered portion being displaced between twopositions, one of which constitutes a diverting device and the other ofwhich constitutes a truck advancing position, in which position thetrucks are permitted to advance along the said predetermined truck pathclear of the path of advancement of the diverted trucks.

Preferably, however, the diverting means would be constructed as atongue or switch mounted for pivotal movement relative to the fenderelement so as to be displaceable relative to the fender element betweenthe two positions referred to.

Such 'tongue or switch may be supported for pivotal movement from theiloor independently of the fender element', but preferably it would bemounted thereon.

Whatever arrangement is adopted, the fender element itself serves tomaintain the so diverted trucks in a path which is to one side of i.e.-diverted from the predetermined path of. truck advancementaforementioned, so as to ensure that the diverted trucks when brought torest, are not in a position at which they might foul other trucks whichare continuing to advance.

Preferably, the fender element with its associated diverting means wouldbe adapted for removable mounting on the floor, such an arrangementpermitting if desired, of the element being removed completely after thediversion of a particular truck or a desired number of trucks has beeneffected as well as permitting of the element being disposed atdifferent positions on the floor alon'g the truck path, so as to effectdiversion of one or more trucks at different locations on the tloor asmay be required.

The drive to the diverted trucks which are required to be arrested maybe disconnected in any convenient manner, but preferably such drivedisconnecting means would comprise the provision on the forward end ofeach truck of a displaceable butter connected to a disengageablecoupling provided on the truck and through which the drive istransmitted from the conveying element supported above the floor, thebuffer being displaceable between a projected truck driving position anda retracted position in which the coupling is disengaged yto disconnectthe truck drive; and in such an arrangement the first of a number ofdiverted trucks would be arrested by a displaceable or retractable stop-disposed on the floor at the end of the diversion path, so as therebyto arrest the r'st of the diverted trucks, and the buffers of thefollowing diverted trucks would each be adapted to engage with thepreceding already arrested truck so as thereby to be displaced ,andeffect the appropriate drive disconnection.

The invention is illustrated in thev accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of one forin of conveyor system ofthe foregoing kind and embodying the present invention,

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of part of the construction depicted inFIGURE l,

FIGURE 3 is a plan view to van enlarged Ascale of the fender element ofthe construction shown in FIGURE l,

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of the fender element depicted in FIGURE 3,

FIGURE 5 is an end view or the fender' element shown in FIGURES 1 to 4,looking in the direction of arrow 5 in FIGURE 4,

FIGURE. 6 is a plan View to an enlaged scale of part of the fenderelement shown in FIGURES 3 and 4,

FIGURE 7 is a cross sectional view to an enlarged scale illustrating theconstruction of the truck drive disconnecting means of the constructionof FIGURES 1 and 2,

FIGURE 8 is a plan view of the arrangement depicted in FIGURE 7, withthe parts in the drive disconnected position, v

FIGURE 9 is a cross sectional view to an enlarged 4truck from which axisthe buffer depends. ,above such hinge axis, is provided with a cam 32adapted scale of part of the conveyor element of the constructiondepictedy in FIGURES 1 and 2, illustrating an arrangement forautomatically controlling the displacement of the diverting means of theconstruction depicted in FIG- URES 3 to 5,

FIGURE is an electrical circuit diagram forming part of the sameconstruction,

FIGURE 11 is a plan view similar to FIGURE 3, showing a modifiedconstruction,

FIGURE 12, is a cross sectional side view on the line -12-12 of FIGURE11,

FIGURE 13 is a plan view similar to FIGURE 3, showing a furtherconstruction, and

FIGURE 14 is a side elevation of the construction depicted in FIGURE 13.

Referring firstly to the construction shown in FIG- URE 1 to 10 of thedrawings, the conveyor system there depicted comprises a conveyingelement in the form of Van endless chain which as shown is depicteddiagrammatically in FIGURE 1. The chain is supported from Va track 21mounted through hangers 22 from a roof 23 :or any other convenientsupport at a position above a oor 24, so that the chain 20 is supportedin substantially parallel relation to the oor.

The conveyor system further comprises a plurality of `wheeled trucks 25adapted to be advanced over the floor ,and having a load carryingplatform 26. Each truck 25 at its forward end in the designed directionof advancement is provided with an upstanding mast 27, to the upper endof which is secured the lower end of truck drive transmitting means inthe form of a cable or other pulling member 28, which serves to transmitdrive from the chain 20 to the associated truck to advance this over thefloor.

As shown in FIGURES 7 and 8, each cable 28 is jadapted to bedisconnected from the upper end of the 4associated truck mast 27 so asto permit of the truck .being brought to rest without stopping thecontinued advancement of the chain 20 and of the remaining trucks driventherefrom, and in each cable 28 is incorporated some form of springloaded cable retracting means illustrated diagrammatically at 29 inFIGURE 2, so as to .raise the cable when this has been disconnected fromthe truck, mast. Such an arrangement of cable retracting .means isalready known in conveyor systems of the kind V.hereinbefore specifiedand need not, therefore, further `be described.

Each truck 25 at its forward end is provided, as best zs hown in FIGURE7, with a buffer 30, hinged at 31 about a horizontal transverse axis tothe front end of the The buffer,

to have releasable latching engagement with a nose 33 provided on thelower end of a rod 34, which is slidable vertically within the interiorof truck mast 27 which is made of tubular form for this purpose. y Therod 34 is biased in a downward direction by spring 35, but is retainedin an upper position against the spring pressure bythe engagementbetween the buffer cam 32 and nose 33 with the parts in the positiondepicted in FIGURE 6.

1n this upper position of the slidable rod 34, its upper extremity 36 isadapted to project through bores 37 and 38, each formed in one of thetwo coupling members 39,

r40, which coupling members are mounted on the upper end of truck mast27 and are secured together by pivot pin 41v for relative pivotalmovement about a vertical axis.

Each coupling member 39, 40 is formed, as shown in .FIGURE 8, with apart-spherical jaw 42, 43, adapted for releasable coupling engagementwith a ball 44 provided on the lower end of cable 28. i

The arrangement is such that with the rod 34 in its `upper position inwhich its upper end 36 projects within `the two bores 37, 38 of the twocoupling members, to

retain the two bores in alignment, the jaws 42, 43 of these couplingmembers are held in drive transmitting engagement with the cable ball44, while in the event of the buffer 30 hitting an obstruction, therebycausing it to swing in a rearward direction about its pivot 31disengaging its cam 32 from nose 33, the rod 34 is at once sliddownwardly by spring 35 to bring the upper end of the rod out of atleast the upper bore 33 and free the associated coupling member 40. Thelatter is now free to turn about its pivot 41 relative to the othercoupling member 39, thus permitting of the two jaws 42, 43, movingrelatively apart into the disengaged position depicted in FIGURE 8,under the pressure exerted on the jaws from the driving tension in cable28 acting through ball 44. Under these circumstances, the drive to theassociated truck 25 is at once disconnected.

Re-engagement of the jaws 42, 43 with cable ball 44 and their locking insuch position by rod '34 is effected manually, to facilitate which therod is provided with lifting handle 34a.

In accordance with the present invention, the conveyor system isprovided with a truck diverting device 4S consisting of a fender element46 built-up from a number of frame members welded together, the fenderelement being of generally elongated form and being adapted to bedisposed with its longitudinal axis vertically below the chain track 21and parallel to but to one side of the designed predetermined path ofthe trucks which are required to be advanced without being brought torest across the floor, such predetermined path of these continuouslyadvancing trucks being depicted at 47 in FIGURE l.

The fender element 46 embodies vertically extending tubes 48 each ofwhich have slidably mounted therein a post 49, the lower end of each ofwhich posts is adapted to extend slidably within a socket 50 mounted inthe floor 24, the arrangement permitting of the fender element 46 beingdetachably secured to the oor by the engagement of the posts 49, withinthe socket 50, so as thereby to preclude horizontal movement of thefender element when engaged by an advancing truck.

In practice a number of pairs of sockets 50 would be provided at variouspositions on the floor so as to permit of different dispositions of thediverting device, to facilitate which the fender element is providedwith a pair of vertically retractable ground engaging wheels 51, so thatit may be wheeled to the desired position, while each post 49 ispreferably screw threaded at its upper end and engages within a nut 52with the upper end of tube 48, the post at its upper extremity carryinga turning handle S3 whereby the post can be retracted clear of theassociated socket 50 when movement of the diverting device to anotherposition is required.

The fender element 46 is provided on each of its longitudinal sides witha truck mast engaging rail 54, 55, the two rails having rearwardportions 56, 57 respectively which converge towards one another at therear end of the fender element. Herein the expressions rear and rearwardhave reference to the designed direction of truck advancement as denotedby the arrows in FIG- URES 1 and 2.

The rails v54, 55 including their rearwardly converging por-tions 56, 57are disposed at a level above -the oor 24 which is somewhat below thelevel of the -top of the truck masts 27, and the rails, including theirrearwardly converging portions, are spaced horizontally outwardly fromthe base portions of ythe fender element in a rearward direction andalso in a lateral or transverse direction, as shown in FIGURE 5, by adistance somewhat greater than half the overall width of each truck 25.'I'hus as each truck mast 27 is disposed medially of the lateral sidesof the truck, .the trucks can freely advance as shown in FIGURES 1 and 5with their masts 27 in engagement with the adjacent rail 54, 55 orconverging portion 56, '57 .thereof without the truck platforms 26 orgoods thereon or other parts of the truck, including the buffers 30,fouling the Ifender element.

The two rearwardly converging portions 56, I57 of the 'rails 54, `55 areconnected together by bracket plate 58 carrying vertical spindle 59which supports for pivotal movement about a vertical axis the forwardend por- .tion 60 of truck diverting means 61which as illustrated, is`constructed as a rearwardly extending -switch or tongue embodying apair .of truck mast engaging rails 62, 63 which converge rearwardlysubstantially to a point at 64 (see FIGURES 3, 4 and 6).

In order to reduce wear of the truck mast where it is so adapted toengage with the fender element as well as to reduce wear of the soengaged parts of the fender element, each truck mast 27 at a heightcorresponding to that of the rails 54, 55, `62, 63 has mounted thereonfof rotation about -a vertical axis, a guide roller 27a. The provisionof such guide roller facilitates the advancement of the trucks past thefender elements with their masts in engagement therewith through thesaid guide rollers.

The tongue 61 is displaceable about its pivot 59 be- Itween the twopositions indicated in full line and in dashed line in FIGURES l and 6,in each of which positions one or the other of the two tongue rails 62,63 is horizontally aligned respectively with the adjacent convergingportion S6, 57 of rail 54, 55 at one or the other of the twolongitudinal .sides of the fender element.

The exten-t of pivotal displacement of the tongue 61 isrsuch as to bringthe rearwardly converging ends 64 of its two rails on one or the otherlateral side off the line of advancement of the truck masts 27 whichwill be substantially the line of the chain 26 as diagrammaticallydepicted in FIGURE l.

With thetongue 61 in the full line position depicted in FIGURES 1, 3 and6, in which tongue rail 62 is aligned with the rearwardly convergingrail portion 56, a truck advanced by chain in alignment with the centrallongitudinal axis -of fender element 46 willv -advance to a position inwhich it-s vroller 27a on mast 27 engages with tongue rail 62, so thatthe mast with its associa-ted truck is displaced into the lateralposition indicated at 27 in FIGURE 1, and as the so displaced truckcontinues to be advanced by the conveyor` chain 2t), the mast 27 willthrough its roller 27a successively engage with the rail portion 56 andfender rail 54 with the trucks advancing at one lside of the fenderelement, namely, -that adjacent the rail d, along the aforementionedtruck path 47, such trucks so advancing to one side of the fenderelement being depicted in full outline in FIGURE 1. These particulartrucks continue to advance without interruption past this one side ofthe fender element 46.`

Lateral displacement of the trucks when their masts so engage the tongueV61 is ensured by constructing the front pair of .the four truck wheels65 as castor wheels, the rear pair being fixed against turning aboutvertical axes rela-tive to the truck platform 26 on which the wheels 65are mounted.

The foregoing full line position of the tongue 61 constitutes a truckadvancing position.

With the tongue 61 in its other pivotal position as shown in dashedoutline in FIGURES l and 6, namely, the truck diverting-positions', itsrail 63 will now be aligned with rearwardly converging fender railportion 57 and will now be adapted to engage with the guide rollers 27aon the mast 27 of an advancing truck to divert this out of the truckpath 47 with the mast through its guide roller tirst engaging the fenderrail portion 57, and thereafter the' rail 55, the' trucks now advancingin-to the dotted and truck diverted position indicated at in FIGURE 1,at which position the trucks are required to be arrested.

For this purpose at a position situated somewhat forwardly of theforward Vend of rail 5S a stop block 66 is mounted on the floor 24 at aheight such as to engage with the buffer 36 of the foremost of the sodiverted trucks and displace this buffer to disconnect the upper end ofthe truck mast 27 from the cable 28, in the manner already described,and thereby bring this particular truck to rest. As the nextsuccessively diverted truck advancing adjacent rail 55 approaches thisalready arrested truck, its buffer 3i) will engage with the rear end ofthe platform 26 of the arrested truck; such engagement being with abumper 6'7 provided on and depending from such rear platform end so assimilarly to displace the buffer 3d of this succeeding truck and effectarrest thereof until eventually a line of trucks may be arrested onebehind the other in the diverted position, as shown in 25 in FIGURE 1.

Insofar as each of these trucks are arrested in a position in which bythe operation of the fender element 46 and its associated divertingtongue 61, the trucks are arrested at a position, namely, at 2S at oneside of the aforementioned truck path 47, these arrested trucks 25' inno way interfere with the continued advancement of other trucks at theVopposite side of the fender element t6 along the path d'7.

The tongue 61 may be displaced manually into either of its twopositions, but preferably, as shown there is provided means operableunder the control of each advancing truck for displacing the tongue 61so that each truck may predetermine itself whether it is to advance pastthe fender element or to be diverted into a stationary position.

For this purpose as shown in FIGURE 6, the fender element 46 between itstwo rearwardly converging rail portions 56, 57,` carries a pair ofsolenoids 68, 69, the armatures 7i?l of which are connected by links 71to the aforementioned forward end portion 60 of tongue 61, the linksextending on opposite sides of the tongue pivot 59, and the arrangementbeing such that by energising one or the other of the two solenoids, thetongue 61 can be swung into one or the other of its two positions. Y

In association with the drive from the chain 2,0 to each truck, ispre-selectable means shown in FIGURE 9, comprising an attachment bracket72 a number of which are mounted on the chain 20 at spaced intervals,each attachment bracket being connected to the upper end of cable V2?and being of forked configuration, with the two arms 73 being formedwith aligned openings for the reception of selectorpins 74 which aredisplaceable in the direction of their length in either direction fromthe retracted medial inoperative position shown in full line in FIGURE9, to either extreme projected positions depicted at '74 and 74". i

In either of these projected operative positions the pin ends areadapted to engage with rollers 75 on the moving members 76 ofmicro-switches 77, which in the known manner are arranged in banks atintervals along the length of the chain track 21, for example, wheredepicted in FIGURE 2.

Each of these micro-switches is constructed as a twoposition switchwhich, referring to FIGURE 10, has its moving member 76 normally in thefull line position for energising from main supply terminal 78 solenoid68, and de-energising solenoid 69, that is to say a position in whichthe roller 75 of each micro-switch is not engaged by a selector pin 74.

Referring to FIGURE 6, the arrangement is such that with solenoid 68energised, the tongue 61 is in position for continued truck advancement.

With the moving member 76of micro-switch 77 displaced into the dottedposition shown at 76 in FIGURE 10 corresponding to engagement of theassociated roller 7S by a projected selector pin 74, solenoid 68 willnow be de-energised and solenoid Y69 energised s'o as now to displacethe associated tongue 61 into the truck diverting position to effectarrest of the truck as already described.

Thus, diversion and arresting of any particular truck can be etfected bysuitably positioning the appropriate selector pin 74 connected throughthe drive cable 2S with the truck concerned.

In practice a number of diverting devices 45 would be provided atdifferent positions along the length of the truck path, each controlledby one of the several microswitches 77, and the arrangement shown inFIGURE 9 is designed to take care of the case where a number ofdiverting devices 45 are required.

In FIGURES ll and 12 is shown a modification of the precedingconstructions, in which the diverting device 45 is disposed whollyadjacent the oor 24 to which it is secured detachably or permanently inany convenient manner, and is provided with a switch tongue 51,displaceable from a full line truck advancing position to a dashed linetruck diverting position, in like manner to the preceding construction,the rear end of the tongue being supported on a oor engaging roller 79.

This tongue 61 with the side rails 54, 55 and the converging portions56, 57 thereof, are adapted to engage either with dependent -fenderportions, not shown, or with guide rollers, not shown, of the trucksprovided on the sides of truck platform 26 constructed so as thereby toeffect diversion of these as they advance. The dependent fender portionsor guide rollers provided on the truck platform in this arrangementensure that the truck wheels 65 themselves do not engage the fenderelements and these wheels 65 may all be formed as biased or selfreturning castor wheels, that is to say as castor wheels which arebiased so as to have their planes of rotation normally parallel to thelongitudinal axis, i.e. normal direction of advancement of the truck,although capable of such position when subjected to a lateral force aspro- `vided by the tongue 61 and rail portions 56 and 57 of the fenderelement 46.

The vertical depth of the diverting device 45 is made less than theclearance between the oor and the underside of each truck buifer 30, soas to preclude undesired disconnection of the drive to an advancingtruck by engagement of the buffer 30 with the diverting device.

The tongue 61 may be displaced manually, or it may be displaced by thesolenoid arrangement of the preceding construction depicted in FIGURES 6and l0 under the control of the advancing trucks, or if desired theroller 79 may be driven from any suitable power unit such as an electricmotor for traversing the tongue 61.

In FIGURES 13 and 14 is depicted a further form of diverting device ofsomewhat lighter construction than that shown in FIGURES 3 to 6, inwhich the fender element with the exception of its supporting tubes 48is disposed in a single horizontal plane at a level corresponding to theupper portion of the truck masts, the tubes 48 being secured to theiloor 24 in any convenient manner, and this fender element is providedwith displaceable diverting means in the form of a tongue 61 in themanner similar to the constructions previously described.

What I claim then is:

l. In a truck conveyor system wherein a plurality of wheeled trucks areadvanced along a predetermined path over a floor by a conveyor elementsupported above the floor in substantially parallel relation thereto,and wherein there are means for transmitting drive from said conveyorelement to said trucks, the provision of a truck diverting device,comprising a fender element, means for mounting the fender element in apredetermined location in relation to the floor, said fender elementhaving operatively associated therewith means for diverting to one sideof said elernent and to one side of said predetermined path ofadvancement of the trucks any one or more of a succession of advancingtrucks and means for disconnecting the drive to each of the so divertedtrucks to bring the same to rest at a position to one side of said truckpath clear of the trucks which continue to advance successivelytherealong.

2. In a truck conveyor system wherein a plurality of wheeled trucks areadvanced along a predetermined path over a oor by a conveyor elementsupported above the oor in substantially parallel relation thereto, andwherein there are means for transmitting drive from said conveyorelement to said trucks, the provision of a truck diverting device,comprising a fender element of elongated conguration, means for mountingthe fender element in a predetermined location in relation to the floor,with the longitudinal axis thereof extending in the predetermined pathof advancement of the trucks, said fender element having operativelyassociated therewith means for diverting to one side of said element andto one side of said path of advancement of the trucks any one or more ofa succession of advancing trucks and means for disconnecting the drivet0 each of the so diverted trucks to bring the same to rest at aposition to one side of said truck path clear of the trucks whichcontinue to advance successively therealong.

3. In a truck conveyor system wherein a plurality of wheeled trucks areadvanced along a predetermined path over a floor by a conveyor elementsupported above the iioor in substantially parallel relation thereto,and wherein there are means for transmitting drive from said conveyorelement to said trucks, the provision of a truck diverting device,comprising a fender element, means for mounting the fender element in apredetermined location in relation to the iloor, a switch tongue mountedfor angular movement about a vertical axis relative to the fenderelement and at a position adjacent that end of the fender element whichis rearmost in relation to the predetermined path of truck advancement,the arrangement being such that the switch tongue can be disposed ineither of two positions, in one of which positions it is adapted toengage with part of an advancing truck to divert the same to one side ofthe fender element, and in the other of which positions the trucks arepermitted to advance on the opposite side of the fender element along apath clear of the diverted trucks and means for disconnecting the driveto each of the so diverted trucks to bring the same to rest at aposition to one side of said truck path clear of the trucks whichcontinue to advance successively therealong.

4. In a truck conveyor system wherein a plurality of wheeled trucks areadvanced along a predetermined path over a floor by a conveyor elementsupported above the iloor in substantially parallel relation thereto,and wherein there are means for transmitting drive from said conveyorelement to said trucks, the provision of a truck diverting device,comprising a fender element, means for mounting the fender element in apredetermined location in relation to the floor, a switch tongue mountedon the fender element for angular movement about a vertical axisrelative to the fender element and at a position adjacent that end ofthe fender element which is rearmost in relation to the truckadvancement, the arrangement being such that the switch tongue can bedisposed in either of two positions, in one of which positions it isadapted to engage with part of an advancing truck to divert the same toone side of the fender element, and in the other of which positions thetrucks are permitted to advance on the opposite side of the fenderelement along a path clear of the diverted trucks and means fordisconnecting the drive to each of the so diverted trucks to bring thesame to rest at a position to one side of said truck path clear of thetrucks which continue to advance successively therealong.

5. In a truck conveyor system wherein a plurality of wheeled trucks areadvanced along a predetermined path over a floor by a conveyor elementsupported above the oor in substantially parallel relation thereto, andwherein there are means for transmitting drive from said conveyorelement to said trucks, the provision of a truck diverting device,comprising a fender element, means for mounting the fender element in apredetermined location 1n relation to the floor, a switch tongue mountedfor angular movement about a vertical axis relative to the 9 fenderelement and at a position adjacent that end of the fender element whichis rearmost in relation to the predetermined path of truck advancement,the arrangement being such that the switch tongue caribe disposed ineither of twoV positions, inone of which positions it is adapted toengage with part of ad advancing truck to divert the same to one side ofthe fender element, and in the other of which positions the trucks arepermitted to advance on the opposite side of the fender element along apath clear of the diverted trucks, means for disconnecting the drive toeach of the so diverted trucks to bring the same to rest at a positionto one side of said truck path clear of the trucks which continue toadvance successively therealong and means operable by the advancement ofa truck adapted automatically to control the angular position of saidswitch tongue.

6. In a truck conveyor system wherein a plurality of wheeled trucks areadvanced along a predetermined path over a oor by a conveyor elementsupported above the Hoor in substantially parallel relation thereto, andwherein there are means -for transmitting drive from said conveyorelement to said trucks, the provision of a truck diverting device,comprising a fender element, means for mounting the fender element in apredetermined location in relation to the oor, a switch tongue mountedon the fender element for angular movement about a vertical axisrelative to the fender element and at a position adjacent that end ofthe fender element which is rearmost in relation to the predeterminedpath of truck advancement, the arrangement being such that the switchtongue can be disposed in either of two positions, in one of whichpositions it is adapted to engage with part of an advancing truck todivert the same to one side of the fender element, and in the other ofwhich positions the trucks are permitted to advance on the opposite sideof the fender element along a path clear of the diverted trucks, meansfor disconnecting the drive to each of the so diverted trucks to bringthe same to rest at a position to one side of said truck path clear ofthe trucks which continue to advance successively therealong and meansoperable by the advancement of a truck adapted automatically to controlthe angular position of said switch tongue.

7. A truck conveyor system according to claim 5, wherein in associationwith the switch tongue is a pair of solenoids, the armatures of whichare connected to the switch tongue at opposite sides of the axis ofpivoting thereof, and means for energising one or the other of the twosolenoids so as thereby to displace the switch tongue into one or theother of its two positions, said energising means being controlled byswitch means disposed adjacent the conveyor element and adapted to beactuated by pre-selectable displaceable control means associated withthe drive transmitting means operating between the conveying element andeach truck, the arrangement being such that by displacing thepre-selectable displaceable control means into different positions, saidswitch means is actuated or is not actuated in accordance with thepredetermined requirements of the conveyor system.

8. A truck conveyor system according to claim 6, wherein in lassociationwith the tongue switch is a pair of solenoids, the armatures of whichare connected to the switch tongue at opposite sides of the axis ofpivoting thereof, and means for energising one or the other of the twosolenoids so as thereby to displace the switch tongue into one or theother of its two positions, said energising means being controlled byswitch means disposed adjacent the conveyor element and adapted to beactuated by pre-selectable displaceable control means associated withthe drive transmitting means operating between the conveying element andeach truck, the arrangement being such that by displacing thepre-selectable displaceable control means into different positions, saidswitch means is actuated or is not actuated in accordance with thepredetermined requirements ot the conveyor system.

9. A truckV conveyor system accordingto claim 1, wherei-n each truck isprovided with anupstanding mast adapted to be connected to the conveyingelement, each tender element bei-ng provided with arai-l spacedhorizontally outwardly of the upper' part ofthe fender element andadapted withL its associated diverting means to engage with theV truckmast, thearrangement permitting of part of the sengaged truck whichprojects to on'e side of the mast advancing beneath the fender elementrail.

10. A truck conveyor system according to claim 2, wherein each truck isprovided with an upstanding mast adapted to be connected to theconveying element, each fender element being provided with a rail spacedhorizontally outw-ardly of the upper part of the fender element andadapted with its associated diverting means to engage with the truckmast, the arrangement permitting of part of the so engaged truck whichprojects to one side of the mast advancing beneath the fender elementrail.

11. A truck conveyor system according to claim 2 wherein each truck isprovided with an upstanding mast adapted to be connected to theconveying element, each fender element being provided with a rail spacedhorizontally outwardly of the upper part of the fender element andadapted with its associated diverting means to engage with the truckmast, the arrangement permitting of `part of the so engaged truck whichprojects to one side of the mast advancing beneath the fender elementrail and said truck mast having rotatably mounted thereon a fenderelement rail engaging guide roller.

12. A truck conveyor system according to claim l, wherein the fenderelement and its associated diverting means is disposed whollyimmediately adjacent the oor.

13. A truck conveyor system according to claim 2, wherein the fenderelement and its associated diverting means is disposed whollyimmediately adjacent the iloor.

14. A truck conveyor system according to claim 1, wherein the drivedisconnecting means comprises the provision on the forward end of eachtruck of a displaceable buier connected to a disengageable couplingprovided on the truck and through which the drive is transmitted fromthe conveying element supported above the iloor, the buffer beingdisplaceable between a projected truck driving position and a retractedposition in which the coupling is disengaged to disconnect the truckdrive, the arrangement being such as to permit of the first or' a numberof diverted trucks being arrested by a displaceable stop disposedadjacent the ioor at the end of the diversion path, so as thereby toarrest the rst of the diverted trucks and permit of the followingdiverted trucks being arrested by the buffers thereof engagingsuccessively with the preceding already arrested truck so as thereby tobe displaced and effect the said drive disconnection.

15. A truck conveyor system according to claim 2, wherein the drivedisconnecting means comprises the provision on the forward end of eachtruck of a displaceable buffer connected to a disengageable couplingprovided on the truck and through which the drive is transmitted fromthe conveying element -supported above the oor, the buier beingdisplaceable between a projected truck driving position and a retractedposition in which the coupling is disengaged to disconnect the truckdrive, the arrangement being such as to permit `of the rst of a numberof diverted trucks being arrested by a displaceable stop disposedadjacent the floor at the end `of the diversion path, so as thereby t-oarrest the first of the diverted trucks and permit of the followingdiverted trucks being arrested by the buiers thereof engagingsuccessively with the preceding already arrested truck so as thereby to`be displaced .and eiect the said drive disconnection.

16. A truck conveyor system according to claim 5, wherein the drivedisconnecting means comprises the provision on the forward end of eachtruck of a displaceable buffer connected to a disengageable couplingprovided on the truck and through which the drive 4is transmitted fromthe conveying element supported above the floor, the

11 12 buffer being displaceable between a projected truck driv-References Cited in me file of this patent ing POSOD. and a IICI'aCedpOSitiOn in Willich the Coupling 1s d1sengaged to disconnect the truckdrive, the arrangement being such as to permit of the rst of a number of1,917,837 Hlddlesay July 11, 1933 diverted trucks being arrested by adisplaceable stop 5 2,816,516 Dfehl Dec- 17, 1957 disposed adjacent thefloor at the end of the diversion 2,871,799 K'mg Feb, 3, 1959 path, soas thereby to arrest the rst of the diverted 2,982,228 BlShOP et al- May2: 1961 trucks and permit of the following diverted trucks beingarrested by the bufers -thereof engaging successively with FOREIGNPATENTS the preceding already `arrested truck so as thereby to be 1093,494 Austria July 10, 1923 displaced and eect the said drivedisconnection.

